Positivist Paradigm:

• First proposed by French philosopher Auguste Comte (1798-1857).

• Worldview: Grounded in the scientific method of investigation.

• Emphasizes experimentation, observation, reason based on experience, and measurable
observations.
• Aims to understand and explain human behavior and natural phenomena through empirical
research.
• Relies on experimentation, deductive reasoning, formulation of hypotheses, operational
definitions, and mathematical equations.
• Seeks to provide explanations and make predictions based on measurable outcomes.

• Features of positivest paradigm

1. Internal validity:- researcher proves that independent variable has an effect on dependent
variable
2. External validity:- means that the results are generalizable
3. Reliability:- means that different researchers conduct the study in different times places and
context and arrive at the same result
4. Objectivity:- means that researcher studied phenomena without containing their
apprehensions – non biased
• Assumptions: Four key assumptions – determinism, empiricism, parsimony, and
generalizability.
1. Determinism: Events are caused by other factors, and researchers aim to predict and control
these factors.
2. Empiricism: Data collected must be verifiable and support the chosen theoretical framework.

3. Parsimony: Researchers strive to explain phenomena in the most economical way.

4. Generalizability: Results from one context should be applicable to other situations through
inductive inferences.
• Methodology Emphasis: Positivist paradigm advocates the use of quantitative research
methods for precision in data description and analysis to understand relationships within the
data.
• Epistemology (Objectivist): Human understanding is gained through reason and research helps
acquire knowledge that approximates the real nature of what is investigated. In other words
Through research we gain knowledge, which helps us to become more objective to understand
the world around us.
• Ontology (Realism): Beliefs include the existence of material objects, the truth known through
sense-experience, objects existing independently of perception, and retaining properties
perception-independently.

• Realist Ontology Beliefs:

1. Existence of Material Objects: Belief that a world of material objects exists.
2. Truth Through Sense-Experience: Some statements about these objects can be known to be
true through sense-experience.

3. Existence Independent of Perception: Objects exist whether they are actually perceived or
not, assuming their existence is perception-independent.
4. Retention of Properties: Objects can retain properties of the types we perceive them as
having, even when they are not being perceived. These properties are perception-independent.
5. Direct Perception: Through our senses, we perceive the world directly and as it is, justifying
our claims to have knowledge of it.
• Methodology (Experimental): Research involves manipulating one variable (explanatory or
predictor) to observe its impact on another variable (explained or dependent).
• Axiology (Beneficence): Research should aim to maximize good outcomes for the project,
humanity, and participants, while minimizing risks and harm.
• Characteristics of Positivist Research:
• Belief in universal theories and generalizations.
• Context is not considered significant.

• Truth or knowledge can be discovered through research.

• Cause and effect are distinguishable and separable.
• Quantifiable results are sought.
• Theory is used for prediction and control.

• Adherence to the Scientific Method, including hypothesis formulation and empirical or

analytical approaches.
• Objective search for facts.
• Belief in the ability to observe knowledge.
• Ultimate aim is to establish a comprehensive universal theory.
• Application of the scientific method in research.

Postpositivist Paradigm:

• Postpositivist psychologists rejected the positivists’ limited view that only observable
phenomena could be studied.
• They also questioned the positivists’ ability to establish generalizable laws in the context of
human behavior.
• Postpositivists still value objectivity in research.

• Postpositivists propose that researchers should modify their claims, moving from certainty to
understanding based on probability. This acknowledges that absolute truth may not always be
attainable in complex human behavior.
• Postpositivist psychology retains an emphasis on objectivity and generalizability but shifts
towards a more probabilistic understanding of truth, recognizing the complexities of human
behavior.
AXIOLOGY
• In the postpositivist view, ethics is closely tied to research methodology. Researchers have an
ethical obligation to conduct “good” research, which entails:

- Intellectual Honesty: Being truthful and unbiased in research.

- Suppression of Personal Bias: Avoiding personal biases that can influence results.
- Careful Data Collection: Collecting data meticulously.
- Accurate Reporting: Reporting data accurately.

- Candid Admission of Limits: Acknowledging the limitations of scientific reliability in empirical

studies.
• Postpositivist ethical principles and norms, as outlined in The Belmont Report, include Ethical
Principles:

• Beneficence: Maximizing positive outcomes, minimizing harm, and avoiding unnecessary risks.
• Respect: Treating individuals with courtesy, especially those who lack autonomy.
• Justice: Ensuring fairness in research procedures and benefits, and avoiding exploitation.

• Ethical Norms:

1. Valid Research Design: Ensuring the research is valid and beneficial.

2. Researcher Competence: Researchers should be competent in their field.
3. Identifying Consequences: Recognizing and addressing the consequences of the research.
4. Appropriate Sample Selection: Selecting representative and sufficient samples.

5. Voluntary Informed Consent: Obtaining informed and voluntary consent from participants.
6. Compensation for Harm: Informing participants about compensation for potential harm.

ONTOLOGY

• Postpositivists acknowledge the existence of reality.

• They believe that human limitations make it impossible to fully know this reality (critical
realism).
• Researchers can, however, discover aspects of reality within a realm of probability.

• Proving a theory conclusively is not feasible.

• Researchers can strengthen their case by eliminating alternative explanations.
• Postpositivist approach involves embracing the limits of human knowledge while striving to
improve understanding within the bounds of probability.

EPISTEMOLOGY

• Postpositivists recognize that theories, hypotheses, and the investigator’s background

knowledge can strongly influence observations.
• Objectivity is a key standard to strive for in postpositivist research.
• Objectivity means researchers should prevent their personal biases from affecting research
outcomes.
• Researchers must remain neutral and follow prescribed procedures rigorously to avoid the
influence of values or biases.
• Postpositivist research seeks to minimize the impact of the researcher’s subjectivity,
emphasizing a neutral and objective approach to inquiry.

METHODOLOGY

• Postpositivists realized that applying the scientific method rigorously in educational and
psychological research with people was challenging.
• Quasi-experimental methods, which are somewhat experimental but not exactly, were
developed to address these challenges.

• Randomly assigning people to conditions, as done in natural sciences, is often impossible in

social research.
• Modifications to experimental methods were devised to adapt them to human subjects.
• While qualitative methods can be used in this paradigm, quantitative methods are typically
dominant in postpositivist research.

• Postpositivist research seeks to maintain scientific rigor while acknowledging the limitations
and complexities of studying human behavior and education.

Constructivist Paradigm:

• Origin: The constructivist paradigm is rooted in the philosophies of phenomenology (Edmund

Husserl) and hermeneutics (Wilhelm Dilthey and German philosophers).

• Hermeneutics: Hermeneutics is the study of interpretive understanding and meaning.

Historians use it to interpret historical documents in their cultural context.
• Interpretation in Constructivist Research: Constructivist researchers use hermeneutics to
interpret the meaning of something from a specific standpoint or situation.

• Heidegger’s Perspective: Martin Heidegger argued that all meaning, including research
findings, is fundamentally interpretive. Knowledge is developed within a social milieu and is
ever interpreting and reinterpreting itself.
• Assumptions: Constructivist paradigm assumptions include:
1. Knowledge is socially constructed by individuals involved in the research process.
2. Researchers should aim to understand the lived experiences from the perspective of the
participants.
3. Research is influenced by the values of researchers and cannot be separated from them.
• Emphasis: The constructivist paradigm highlights the importance of understanding the
subjective experiences of individuals, emphasizing the role of interpretation and social
construction in knowledge creation.

AXIOLOGY
• Guba’s suggested criterion (from notes)

ONTOLOGY

• Reality is socially constructed, meaning it is shaped by the collective perceptions and

interpretations of individuals and groups.

• Multiple mental constructions of reality exist, and some may conflict with each other.
• Perceptions of reality can change during the course of a study.
• Rejects the idea of an objective, independent reality that can be known.
• Researcher’s goal is to understand the diverse social constructions of meaning and knowledge,
emphasizing the subjective and interpretive nature of reality.

EPISTEMOLOGY
• Researchers and participants interact and influence each other.

• Personal, interactive data collection is preferred.

• Objectivity is replaced by confirmability.
• Data, interpretations, and outcomes are seen as rooted in external contexts and individuals,
not just the researchers’ imagination.
METHODOLOGY

• Qualitative Methods: Qualitative research methods like interviews, observations, and

document reviews are the primary approaches in the constructivist paradigm.
• Social Construction of Reality: These methods align with the paradigm’s belief in the social
construction of reality. Research is seen as possible only through interaction between
researchers and respondents.

• Hermeneutical and Dialectical Approach: The constructivist methodology is described as

hermeneutical and dialectical. Hermeneutics involves seeking multiple perspectives to enhance
the interpretation of meanings. Dialectical interchange involves contrasting and comparing
conflicting ideas, encouraging a reconsideration of previous positions.

• In summary, the constructivist methodology emphasizes qualitative methods that facilitate

interaction and interpretation of meanings, promoting a dynamic and dialectical process of
knowledge construction.

Transformative Paradigm:

• Addressing Social Oppression: The transformative paradigm confronts social oppression at

various levels and actively seeks to bring about social transformation.
• Solidarity with the Less Powerful: Researchers in this paradigm position themselves alongside
marginalized and less powerful groups to effect change.
• Four Key Characteristics:
1. Focus on Marginalized Groups: Emphasis on understanding the lives and experiences of
traditionally marginalized groups such as women, minorities, and individuals with disabilities.
Also involves studying how oppression is structured and reproduced.
2. Analysis of Inequities: Examining why and how inequities rooted in gender, race, ethnicity,
disability, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic classes are reflected in unequal power
relationships.

3. Connection to Social and Political Action: Exploring how research results on inequities are
linked to political and social action.
4. Transformative Theory: Using transformative theory to guide program theory and the
research approach. Program theory involves beliefs about how a program works or why a
problem occurs.
• The transformative paradigm is characterized by its focus on challenging oppression,
amplifying the voices of marginalized groups, and driving social and political change.

AXIOLOGY

• Axiological Focus: The transformative paradigm prioritizes its axiological assumption, which
serves as a guiding principle for shaping beliefs and research decisions.

• Human Rights and Social Justice: Transformative researchers begin with a focus on human
rights and social justice, positioning these principles at the core of their research endeavors.
• Dissatisfaction with Other Paradigms: The paradigm emerged due to dissatisfaction with
research conducted in other paradigms, which was often seen as irrelevant to the lives of
marginalized and oppressed people.
• Participant Involvement: The transformative paradigm advocates for greater participant
involvement in the research process, aligning with the principles of respect, beneficence, and
justice.
• Critique and Extension of Ethical Principles: Transformative researchers critically examine and
extend principles of respect, beneficence, and justice, considering cultural norms, human rights,
and social justice.
• International Human Rights Initiatives: The paradigm is reinforced by global human rights
initiatives through the United Nations.

• Professional Ethical Codes: Relevant professional associations and organizations have adapted
their codes of ethics to align with the transformative paradigm’s axiological assumptions,
emphasizing cultural competency and ethical practice.
• Indigenous and Community Guidelines: Researcher guidelines are available from Indigenous
communities, offering insights into ethical research grounded in respect, community
engagement, and cultural sensitivity.
• The transformative paradigm places ethical considerations, human rights, and social justice at
the forefront of research, advocating for the active participation of marginalized communities
and aligning with ethical principles that support these values.

ONTOLOGY
• Truth and Opinions: In the transformative paradigm, truths are seen as not relative, but
opinions about truth are relative.
• Multiple Versions of Reality: Similar to the constructivist paradigm, the transformative
paradigm acknowledges multiple versions of reality.
• Questioning Equality of Perceptions: The transformative paradigm highlights that considering
different perceptions of reality as equally legitimate ignores the factors that privilege one
version over another, such as social, political, cultural, economic, ethnic, gender, and disability
influences in constructing reality.
• Examination of Reified Structures: The paradigm emphasizes that what appears real may, in
fact, be reified structures accepted as real due to historical circumstances. It calls for a critical
examination of these structures, particularly their role in perpetuating oppressive social
structures and policies.
• Case Example: Schneider et al. (2004) demonstrated the importance of understanding
perceived reality from the viewpoint of people with schizophrenia, highlighting the harm of
certain interventions that do not consider patients’ perspectives and side effects of medications.
• The transformative ontology challenges the idea of relative truths and encourages a critical
examination of reality, considering the impact of social and cultural influences on perceptions of
what is “real.”

EPISTEMOLOGY

• Epistemological Assumptions in the Transformative Paradigm:

• Cultural Lenses and Power: The paradigm’s epistemological assumption views knowledge
through cultural lenses and recognizes the power dynamics in determining what is considered
legitimate knowledge.
• Interactive Relationship: The relationship between the knower (researcher) and the known
(participants) is interactive and acknowledges cultural complexities.
• Challenging Assumptions: Researchers aim to challenge unexamined assumptions influencing
science by starting from the perspectives of marginalized people. This approach generates
critical questions and empowers those without power.
• Situated Knowledge: The concept of “situated knowledge” involves recognizing social and
historical influences on what we claim to know.
• Political Guidance: Politically guided research projects are valued in the paradigm, as they
produce results that are less partial and distorted compared to those guided by the goal of
value neutrality.

• Objectivity Through Reflection: Objectivity is achieved by critically examining the values and
social position of the researcher on research problems, hypotheses, and key concepts.
• Case Example: Schneider et al. (2004) demonstrate the transformative epistemological
assumption through their participatory approach, collaboration with marginalized groups, and
the creation of a supportive community during the research process.
• The transformative epistemological assumption emphasizes cultural perspectives, power
dynamics, and the importance of challenging assumptions in knowledge creation. It values
politically guided research and calls for objectivity through reflection on the researcher’s
position and values.

METHODOLOGY

• Methodological Characteristics in the Transformative Paradigm:

1. Inclusivity of Silenced Voices: The paradigm emphasizes the importance of including

traditionally silenced voices to ensure that marginalized groups in society have an equal say in
the research process, findings, and recommendations.

2. Analysis of Power Inequities: Methodologies within the paradigm should analyze power
imbalances within the social relationships involved in planning, implementing, and reporting
research. This analysis aims to ensure an equitable distribution of both conceptual and material
resources.
3. Empowerment for Social Action: The paradigm advocates for the identification of
mechanisms that link research results to social action. Those who are most oppressed and least
powerful should be central to action plans, empowering them to change their own lives.

• The transformative paradigm’s methodological choices prioritize inclusivity, equity, and

empowerment for marginalized groups, ultimately leading to social change.